As November 5th and the U.S. presidential election approach, social media stocks are on everyone’s lips.

Social media stocks are gaining traction amid debates and speculation about the upcoming election between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

In addition, well-known social media stocks are attracting attention due to internet expansion, corporate collaboration, and video demand. With a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17% from $81.42 billion in 2024, global social media is expected to reach $179.22 billion by 2029.

The US and Canada are one reason why the North American social media market is one of the largest and is estimated to account for 40% of the global social media market growth between 2023 and 2027.

Mass populations in China, India and Indonesia help the Asia-Pacific region become the fastest growing social media market. WeChat and TikHub are leading the market expansion in this huge industry.

The 2024 elections could see a surge in political advertising spending on social media. With political advertising on social media in the U.S. expected to surpass $2 billion, eMarketer points out that such advertising will become increasingly important for reaching voters.

Let’s take a look at three buy-rated social media companies with double-digit upside potential that are likely to benefit from long-term growth and political events affecting the industry.

Microsoft (MSFT)

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Although the software giant Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is praised for moving from desktop to cloud computing and AI; its brand is also very prominent among social media stocks.

New tools and improvements in Microsoft Build 2024 enable app developers to use AI. Azure upgrades, GitHub Copilot extensions, and Copilot Studio make it easier to develop AI assistants. These technologies support applications integrated into digital ecosystems and facilitate development using social media.

At the same time, nearly 141 million LinkedIn members log in every day – 16.2% of a total of 875 million. With an average user time of eight minutes, LinkedIn records 1.7 billion views per day.

97% of marketers use LinkedIn, a powerhouse for business-to-business marketing. Lead generation is largely based on social media, as 80% of B2B contacts originate there.

Microsoft has also improved its advertising tool and now offers AI-powered asset recommendations for video ads, as well as more general targeting across different industries on LinkedIn.

MSFT is a “strong buy” according to 32 analyst ratings. Given the huge demand for MSFT’s AI technologies, the stock’s 12-month upside potential, which averages $503.19, is not hard to reach.

Meta-platforms (META)

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Meta-platforms‘ (NASDAQ:META), revenue in the second quarter of 2024 rose 22.1% to $39.1 billion. Earnings per share rose 73% to $5.16 compared to the same period last year. Meta’s application collection has 3.3 billion daily active users, up 7%. Meta’s impressive result exceeded analysts’ forecasts of $38.3 billion in revenue and $4.73 in earnings per share. The upside potential for META stock is 11%.

In addition, Meta continues to invest significantly in AI, and it is estimated that Meta AI will be widely used worldwide by the end of the year.. Meta developed Segment Anything Model 2, which can find target components in images and movies, and AI Studio, a tool for creating original AI chatbots without any technological knowledge. In addition, Meta’s open-source AI models encourage creativity.

Meta also uses cutting-edge AI to improve ad targeting and user experience, creating revenue opportunities in a variety of areas, including tailored ad design and brand messaging.

Meta’s capital expenditure plan for 2024 has increased from $35 billion to $40 billion, now between $37 billion and $40 billion. These advances are due to extensive research and commercialization in AI. As Meta continues to develop its AI and technology, Susan Li, the company’s chief financial officer, expects a significant increase in capital expenditures by 2025 to improve Meta’s products.

Pinterest (PINS)

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Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) offers new algorithms to improve the old ones. Part of the home feed now includes video pins. Content creators are reordering their pins to get new reach Pencils.

Creative Studio, launched by Pinterest, enables companies Create lifestyle photos for their goods. This option allows companies to add their pin link, select questions and get unique background photos.

Pinterest is becoming more shoppable by using mobile deep links and direct connections that take visitors from discovery to purchase.

In addition, Pinterest integrates Foreclosure (NYSE:CRM) Commerce Cloud and Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) Commerce-native apps. These partnerships simplify Pinterest eCommerce by allowing merchants to manage their product catalogs in these applications.

Thanks to user engagement and strong monetization, Pinterest grew 21% to $854 million in the second quarter of 2024. The company has 522 million monthly active platform users worldwide, up 12% year over year. Pinterest earned 29 cents per share, above analysts’ forecast of 28 cents.

Next year, Pinterest’s earnings are estimated to rise 61 percent to 71 cents per share; the stock’s upside potential is also 61 percent.

At the time of publication, Faizan Farooque had no position (either directly or indirectly) in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and are subject to InvestorPlace.com Publishing guidelines.

At the time of publication, the editor in charge did not hold any positions (either directly or indirectly) in the securities mentioned in this article.